-
Loie Fuller
Loïe Fuller, was an American actress and dancer who was a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques.
The American dancer who achieved international distinction for her innovations in theatrical lighting, as well as for her invention of the “Serpentine Dance,” a striking variation on the popular “skirt dances” of the day. -
Ruth St. Denis
Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) of Newark is the founder of the American modern dance movement. Ruth St. Denis was an American pioneer of modern dance, introducing eastern ideas into the art. She was the co-founder of the American Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts and the teacher of several notable performers. -
Ted Shawn
Often called "The Father of American Dance", Ted Shawn was born in 1891. In his early 20s he was dancing professionally in Los Angeles. He teamed with Norma Gould, and in 1913 they starred in a series of short films for Thomas Edison, including Dances of the Ages (1913). In 1914 he met and married dance star Ruth St. Denis. -
Denishawn
The Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn in Los Angeles, California, helped many perfect their dancing talents and became the first dance academy in the United States to produce a professional dance company -
Martha Graham
American dancer and choreographer Martha Graham was a revolutionary artist of modern dance in the early 20th century. Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. -
Pearl Primus
Pearl Eileen Primus was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the need to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. -
Appalachian Spring Dance
Appalachian Spring is a musical composition by Aaron Copland that was premiered in 1944 and has achieved widespread and enduring popularity as an orchestral suite. -
Cave of Heart
Cave of the Heart is a one-act ballet choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Samuel Barber. It was first performed on May 10, 1946, with the title Serpent Heart, at the second annual Festival of Contemporary American Music in the McMillin Theater of Columbia University. -
Katherine Mary Dunham
Katherine Mary Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer, creator of the Dunham Technique, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." -
Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor is one of the most accomplished artists this nation has ever produced and helped shape and define America’s homegrown art of modern dance from the earliest days of his career as a choreographer.
Acknowledged as one of Taylor’s masterworks, Esplanade is composed entirely of pedestrian movement. -
Merce Cunningham
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. -
Ailey American Dance Theatre
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was founded in 1958 by dancer, choreographer, and visionary Alvin Ailey, to bring African American Dance to all audiences.
Revelations is the best-known work of the Modern Dance choreographer Alvin Ailey. Set to spirituals, gospel, and blues music and influenced by the choreographer's own Christian upbringing, it presents a vision of the historical African American experience from a church-inspired perspective. -
Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais was an American choreographer, composer, stage and lighting designer, teacher, and theatrical innovator. With such diverse talents, Nikolais was able to take complete responsibility for all production aspects of his work. -
Bill T Jones
Bill T. Jones is an innovative dancer and choreographer whose most famous works have been based on a loving partnership and the pain of loss. Jones and Arnie Zane formed two dance troupes and had established a growing following and earned excellent reviews when Zane fell ill with AIDS. "Still/Here," a major and often startling new mixed-media piece by the experimental choreographer Bill T. Jones, is a singularly American work.
